NFL Draft expert said draft is loaded with WRs in first three rounds

That’s who Mel Kiper, Jr., the well-known NFL Draft analyst for ESPN, has the Dolphins selecting at No. 12 in his most recent mock draft.

Perhaps the better news for Dolphins fans is Kiper said the draft has good depth at wide receiver through early in the third round. That could allow Miami to address other needs with its first-round pick and still draft a quality wide receiver.

But Kiper thinks Patterson is a good fit for the Dolphins in the first round.

“In this draft,” Kiper said, “you think at the wide receiver position, ‘Is there anybody worth taking at 12?’ That’s what I had to figure out. At the 12th pick is there somebody worth taking at wide receiver?

“Patterson did not have dominating performances in a number of games. He was OK, not great. There were some games where he showed star quality. He’s got potential, he’s got freakish talent.”

Of course, as with every draft-related blog written at this point in the year, we have to point out it’s very early in the draft process and things almost certainly will change.

But it’s likely the Dolphins will sign a veteran free agent wide receiver, someone they know is a difference-maker. Then you figure they’ll draft a wide receiver to develop and possibly be the No. 2 guy this season.

Kiper contends Patterson (6-3, 205), a junior who had 46 receptions for 778 yards and five touchdowns, is that man.

The only other wide receiver Kiper has in his first round is California junior Keenan Allen (61 receptions, 736 yards, six touchdowns). Kiper thinks Patterson outclasses Allen.

“I think he’s worthy of being a 12th pick,” Kiper said of Patterson. “I just think you look at where he could be a year or two from now, (and) you need a wide receiver, it’s not a big stretch to take him at that point.

“Keenan Allen could have been in that discussion had he been healthy the whole year….But I would say Patterson would be the only (wide receiver to select) at 12 in terms of wide receivers that would make sense.”

Patterson only played one year of major college football having transferred to Tennessee from Hutchinson (Kansas) Junior College.

And he only had one 100-yard game last season. That was his season-best nine-reception, 209-yard performance in a 55-48 victory over Troy. Patterson didn’t have a multiple-touchdown game all season.

On the other hand, Patterson split receptions with teammate Justin Hunter (73 receptions, 1,083 yards, nine TDs), who is projected as a second-round pick.

Kiper, for now, seems sold on Patterson.

“Obviously he was a little raw coming in, he was a guy that wasn’t experienced at this level and I thought showed that he was deserving of being in the first-round discussion during the year,” Kiper said. “He gets pushed up because of where he could be two to three years from now.”

While it doesn’t seem to be a good year for first-round wide receivers, Kiper thinks the second and third rounds could be loaded among guys such as Hunter, Robert Woods (USC), Tavon Austin (West Virginia), Stedman Bailey (West Virginia), Quinton Patton (Louisiana Tech), Terrance Williams (Baylor), and Deandre Hopkins (Clemson), to name a few.

The Dolphins, of course, have two second-round and two third-round picks.

“There might only be two, maybe three (wide receivers) in the first round,” Kiper said. “But you could see as many as six or seven go in the second or early third round.”